To many, Surfas is just a super-cool kitchen supply store for people looking to stock their homes or for real chefs looking to stock a restaurant. But they don’t let those supplies go to waste and have a nice little cafe connected to the joint where they can show off what they do. There are sandwiches, salads, burgers and few other things, but they had me at burger. Kobe Burger, that is.

As I’ve said on here before, I do have a big problem with Kobe Burgers. The first is that in the USA, they aren’t real Kobe beef because of trade restrictions. Although I’ve heard they were lifted recently, I think it is fair to say this beef is simply American Wagyu. My next problem is that one of the reasons Kobe beef is so special is its marbling. When you grind that shit up for a patty, the marbling goes the way of the dodo.

Nonetheless, I was told it was better than the lamb burger and ordered it without any vegetables and with a slice of cheddar.

Smile for the camera.

What I received was a Kobe burger unlike any I’d ever eaten before. Yes, I was disappointed by the greens that accompanied it, but I was also surprised to get such a small and distinctly-formed patty. But, they could have used a burger press in the back, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt as I bit in. The result was really not that good, and I’m not saying that because I had loft expectations for the beef. It simply was a pretty normal burger dressed up in a fancy bun. The grind wasn’t anything special and while it had a little bit more flavor than a frozen patty, it was also kind of dry.

I’m not sure what happened here, because I went to Surfas back when I didn’t have a meat blog and loved it. It took me a while to get back and their menu has certainly changed, but I had hoped they still maintained the quality level they had before. Sadly, they didn’t and I left Surfas less happy than I had expected to.